On the contrary, the Flames put together a 2-0 lead on home ice versus the Iginla-less Colorado Avalanche in the first 40 minutes and I was there.

I had to leave in the 2nd intermission but the Flames head a 2-0 lead at that point. They had a power play goal within the first 3 minutes on their first shot and usually head controlled of the rest of the way. Bryan Elliott was in net. I missed a third period that see the Avalanche get in touch board and get to within 1 but Gaudreau sealed the won a late empty net goal. Final score 4-2.

Next up: March 29 hosting the LA Kings where a Flames win clinches a berth in the 2017 playoffs.

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This game was all Flames except for the Stars breaking Brian Elliott’s bid for a shutout with a single late goal. It was a lot of fun to attend and it was my son’s first NHL game. It was a great bounce back after the ten game winning streak had ended on Wednesday in the game versus the Bruins. The Flames inches closer to securing a playoff spot.

Tkachuk left the game after he was hit by a puck off a faceoff in the neck or an ear. I don’t know his status at the this time. Yet his goal earlier and play overall led him to being named third star of the game ( Giordano and Elliott were the first and second stars).

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Retro night. Battle of Alberta, Flames vs Oilers, Johnny vs McDavid. Sounds fun, right? Well, the opening montage and graphics on the Energy Board were fun but it all went downhill after that for the home team. Johnson allowed 3 goals in first 5 minutes before he was pulled in favour of Elliott and only bright spot was Monahan continuing a goal scoring streak. Final score was 7-3 (with an empty net goal). Flames have a tenuous grasp on a playoff spot a Oilers will contest for the Pacific Division title.

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I attended the November 16, 2016 game between the Calgary Flames and Phoenix Coyotes. Johnny Gaudreau did not play as he is he will be out of action after surgery on a broken finger. No firm date yet has been announced for his return, reporters speculate it’s anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks until he’ll be back.

There were few shots through most of the 1st and 2nd period. Michael Ferland leveled Ekman-Larsson with a clean body-check, sending him to the locker room. But late in the 2nd there was a moment of confusion by the Flames on a shift change, they took an extra man penalty which led to a defensive breakdown in front of Chad Johnson and the Coyotes’ Reider scored to take a 1-0 lead.

This insane bad angle shot by Michael Tkachuk tied the game 1-1:

Yung Matthew makes it 1-1 as his surrogate fathers Mikael and Michael give him the room he needs to shoot.

The Flames found a way to win on Wednesday without Johnny Gaudreau against a team lower than them in the standings. It’s only their third home win of the season and their record right now is a meagre 7-10-1. Flames enjoy a two game-winning streak as they have tonight off. But their next game is Friday against an elite team: the Chicago Blackhawks. Will Calgary’s top line of Bennett-Monahan-Brouwer score?

I attended the Oct 20 game and the only good things I can say about the game are that I was an eyewitness to Johnny Gaudreau’s first goal of this season and that the youngsters like Bennett & Kulak played hard. Otherwise the goaltending and defence were a letdown and the powerplay (statistically the worst in the league so far this young season) was bad. Brouwer scored after a risky pass that could have just as easily been intercepted the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes scored on our broken plays mostly. Flames struggled to move the puck out of their zone into neutral ice and attack. At least 2 of the Hurricane goals came when Flames were on the PK.

There’s a lot of work to be done her by the coaches and players. Head coach Glen Gulutzan has taken over from Bob Hartley but I’m not sure at this time whether Gulutzan has a really good new system that’s hard for the players to learn or if it’s just a bad system unsuitable for the current roster.

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Glad to see the Flames notch their first win of the season (in Game 4) by defeating the Sabres at home in overtime. Sean Monahan delivered a nasty crosscheck that wasn’t called for a penalty then scored the winner so the Sabres have to be steamed about that. In the meantime we wait for Johnny Gaudreau to find his scoring touch. It will happen soon, hopefully Thursday night at home against the Hurricanes.